Monday
Well, back to the names again. So as I was reading this passage I noticed the prayer of Jabez was included in our reading today. Do you remember the big push a few years ago by Bruce Wilkinson (I just looked it up it was published 16 years ago – wow, time flies.)
What Wilkinson did was to take this little gem of a scripture passage and pulled it out from between the list of genealogies. There isn’t much for us to know about Jabez except to say that he was righteous, he asked for God to expend his territory and God blessed him. The beauty of scripture is that it has so many of these little gems tucked away for us to discover and explore. I also noticed that throughout the reading, the occupation of the clan will be mentioned. Potters, skilled workers, shepherds, etc. What we do with our lives is important. So many people are known by the work they do. When we meet someone new, we generally will ask them what they do for a living. So much of our lives are reflected in our occupation. But like other things in our lives, we should be careful that we don’t give our occupations priority over our devotions to Christ. How much better would it be to be remembered for our devotions to Christ, our service to Him, than to an occupation that could be taken away at a moment’s notice. I just had someone in my office the other day who was blindsided by his boss and let go. But it hasn’t devastated him like it could, because his eyes are focused on what Jesus has in store for him and the opportunities that moving on present.
Praising God for increasing our territory
PK